History’s Secrets in London!

London Trip – History’s Secrets Class

Written by Yara

Our class trip to London last Thursday was AMAZING! Being that it was my first time to ever visit the famous city of London, my expectations were high and I was glad to find out that it did not disappoint. Around 9:20 we all piled into our bus and started an hour and a half journey to Oxford Street. It was well worth the wait, and as soon as we were off the bus, my History’s Secrets class “toured” London. We saw many war memorials and observed people’s changing attitude towards war. While some memorials portrayed battle as glorious, others showed the more horrific side of war in commemoration of the strong soldiers who died in battle. Along our way to the tube we stopped to watch the changing of the guards. It was quite impressive to see how in sync they were and how they didn’t move a muscle under their heavy uniforms that must have been extremely hot in the afternoon sun.

While walking to see Big Ben, we passed the statue of the navy general, Nelson.  He was a major war hero who was known for his keen skills and ability in battle, for he rose up in rank until he became quite famous for his defeat of the one and only Napoleon Bonaparte.

Even though the tube was very stuffy, it brought us to the British Museum with great expedience. Before entering the museum we stopped for a quick bite at the Onion Café, which was surprisingly delicious. Once we were done with lunch we went straight to the museum, which was MASSIVE! It had a gallery for every region and time period that we have ever learned about. The only thing that was missing was the air conditioning.

The first exhibit that we looked at was one about Ancient Egypt and Assyria. We were able to snap a few pictures of the Rosetta Stone, which was absolutely amazing. Then we moved on to inspect the hieroglyphs and mummies. The amount of detail put into every casket and writing slab was incredible, especially given the massive amounts of writing and the paints that were used on each one. While looking at all of the mummified animals and miniature statues I realized how much effort was actually put into ensuring a comfortable afterlife.

The two other exhibits we visited were that of Ancient Iran (the Persian Empire) and ancient Greece. Being half Iranian, I found both exhibits extremely fascinating as they both greatly influenced each other. All of their golden jewelry and armor was incredible and absolutely stunning. I also learned of the great influence that both societies played in the rest of the world and how many of their governmental systems are replicated in different countries to this very day. One of my favorite parts would have to be seeing the Elgin Marbles; or in other words, the Parthenon marble carvings. While I felt so fortunate to be able to see the marbles and examine them, it brought up the ethical question of why shouldn’t Greece be in charge of the marbles? While there had been wars there, as of lately they are fully capable of taking proper care of the marbles. They even have a whole museum created for them, once they convince the British to return them.

Finally the museum was to hot to handle and we left to go explore the rest of London. All the classes met up, then we went off with our friends to eat and shop around. I had the greatest time!

 

The Ice has broken!

This afternoon, the sun came out and helped melt away any remaining icebergs separating the students. Led by our Ministers of Fun, TJ and Lizzie, the students participated in a variety of games and activities to help the students get comfortable with each other and bring out a little bit of their silliness. The back garden was filled with laugher and cries of fun. Human bingo, posse rock paper scissors, “nose to nose”, and mingle-mingle were all played and enjoyed.

After the games were played, staircase groups went out on the town and had tours of the area; sharing knowledge of various sights, giving insight to students about the various haunts of historical personages.
The sun continued in to the evening, students were content hanging out in the quad and back garden, enjoying the sun and each others company.

After a delicious dinner, they had a quick Dean’s meeting to go over the program’s guidelines, and then they split off into their staircase groups to have their supercalifragalisticexpialadocious “meetings”. The staircase meetings were well planned as some groups had a royal themed meeting with tiaras and crowns, others were decorating cupcakes, and many games of “two truths and a lie” were played.

Sunday affords a time to relax and do some more exploring. Some groups may take in a pub lunch, see a museum, or take in evensong at Christ Church.

As it is almost Sunday, and all the kiddies are in bed, time to tuck in.
Enjoy the photos!

The Annex Girls and Brown Blog Bear tour about Oxford

Rock, Paper, Scissor Shoot!

Egg? Chicken? Falcon? Evolution rock paper scissor

You do speak elvish?

Surfer to wave … awesome interpretations

Foot to shoulder, one of the many combos in “nose to nose”

where can i fit you in to our human bingo

Congo lines as a part of mingle mingle

Mingle mingle mingle

Our Ministers of Fun

Who’s posse will grow?

top 3 challengers!

Four out of five spots filled!

Nice to meet you, have you any siblings/

cheering on our new friends

some more surfing

The Count Down Is On!

Hello future OxPreppers! It is a typical Oxford day: slightly grey, a little drizzle, and a comfortable temperature. Oxfordians are busy, running and biking here and there, off to exams, and preparing for various traditions that come with the end of their term.

As for you, OxPrepper, you are probably winding down your high school year, writing exams yourselves, and excitedly awaiting your departure to join the already accumulating OxPrep staff.
Over the next few days, there will be a series of posts to help you prepare for your journey to join us: some staff and faculty bios, helpful packing tips, travel updates, and some words to ever increase your excitement for arrival.

This upcoming month can be one of the best experiences of your lives – come with an open heart, positive mindset, and willingness to be accepting. Just like so many things in life, the more you put into something, the more you will get out of the experience – so give it your all!

The OxPrep staff are eagerly anticipating your arrival; planning excursions, activities around town, staircase functions, your classes, and general merriment! We will see you soon, OxPreppers, and in the mean time, in the words of John Green, VlogBrother and NerdFighter extraordinaire, “D.F.T.B.A.” (don’t forget to be awesome).